Col  Jf rank  ^>tmmonsi 
1857  =  Hambett)  = 


COL.  FRANK  SIMMONS  LAMBETH 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/funeralservicesi01unse 


THE  FUNERAL  SERVICES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

COL.  FRANK  SIMMONS 
LAMBETH 


THE  REVEREND  C.  S.  KIRKPATRICK, 

His  Pastor,  Presiding 


HELD  AT 

MAIN  STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH 
Thomasville,  N.  C. 
2  P.M. 
Saturday,  November  24, 
1928 


"That  I  may  know  him,  ana  the  power  of 
his  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  his 
sufferings!" — [Philippians  3:10] 


Wt)t  Jf uneral  ^etfrices; 


ORGAN  PROCESSIONAL 


THE  CHOIR  SANG:  "ABIDE  WITH  ME" 

"Abide  with  me!  Fast  falls  the  eventide, 
The  darkness  deepens — Lord,  with  me  abide! 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee. 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O  abide  with  me! 

"Swift  to  its  close  ebbs  out  life's  little  day; 
Earth's  joys  grow  dim,  its  glories  pass  away; 
Change  and  decay  in  all  around  I  see; 
O  thou,  who  changest  not.  abide  with  me! 

"I  need  thy  presence  every  passing  hour; 
What  but  thy  grace  can  foil  the  tempter's  power? 
Who,  like  thyself,  my  guide  and  stay  can  be? 
Through  cloud  and  sunshine.  Lord,  abide  with  me! 

"Hold  thou  thy  cross  before  my  closing  eyes; 
Shine  through  the  gloom  and  point  me  to  the  skies; 
Heaven's  morning  breaks,  and  earth's  vain  shadows  flee; 
In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me!" 

(Henry  F.  Lyte) 

Scripture  JXcaiung 

The  Reverend  A.  W.  Plyler,  D.D. 

"The  Lord  is  my  shepherd;  I  shall  not  want. 

"He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures;  he  leadeth  me  beside 
the  still  waters. 

"He  restoreth  my  soul:  He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness 
for  his  name's  sake. 

"Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 
fear  no  evil :  for  Thou  art  with  me ;  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me. 

"Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies: 
Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil;  my  cup  runneth  over. 

"Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life: 
and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever."  (Psalm  23) 


-[7]- 


"I  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life:  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live: 

"And  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 

(John  11:25,  26) 

"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me. 

"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would 
have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you. 

"And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 

(John  14:  1-3) 

"And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours;  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

(Revelation  14:13) 

"And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  there  shall 
be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  pain:  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away." 

(Revelation  21:4) 

"The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation;  whom  shall  I  fear?  The 
Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid? 

"Wait  on  the  Lord:  be  of  good  courage,  and  he  shall  strengthen  thine 
heart:  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord."  (Psalm  27:1,  14) 

"I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills,  from  whence  cometh  my  help. 
"My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord,  which  made  heaven  and  earth. 
"He  will  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved:  he  that  keepeth  thee  will 
not  slumber."  (Psalm  121 : 1-3) 

"For  the  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield:  the  Lord  will  give  grace  and 
glory:  no  good  thing  will  be  withheld  from  them  that  walk  uprightly. 
"0  Lord  of  hosts,  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  thee." 

(Psalm  84:11,12) 

"For  we  have  not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the 
feeling  of  our  infirmities;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin. 

"Let  us  therefore  come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may 
obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need." 

(Hebrews  4:15,16) 


-[8]- 


draper 


The  Reverend  J.  H.  Barnhardt 

"Our  Heavenly  Father,  who  art  the  strength  of  thy  saints  and  the 
Redeemer  of  the  souls  of  thy  people:  We  bless  thy  name  for  all  those  who 
have  died  in  the  Lord  and  who  now  rest  from  their  labors,  having  received 
the  end  of  their  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

"Bless  us,  we  pray  thee,  in  this  sacred  hour  when  we  bow  in  the 
presence  of  our  dead  and  implore  thy  benedictions  upon  our  needy  hearts. 
Draw  aside  the  veil  of  grief,  thou  who  knewest,  and  doth  know  still,  the 
sorrow  of  man  for  man.  Thou  who  didst  bow  thy  head  upon  the  cross  and 
pass  beneath  the  shadow  and  pain  of  dying,  draw  near  unto  us,  and  speak 
the  word  of  vctory  over  death  and  the  grave. 

"We  thank  Thee  for  the  noble  life  of  thy  servant,  now  called  to  his 
reward;  for  the  thought  of  others,  the  gentle  heart  and  hand,  the  example 
of  lowly  courtesy  and  earnest  dutifulness  which  made  him  so  beloved  by 
us  all. 

"Especially  do  we  call  to  remembrance  Thy  loving  kindness  and  Thy 
tender  mercies  extended  through  so  many  years  to  our  brother  and  friend ; 
for  all  Thy  goodness  which  withheld  not  his  portion  in  the  joys  of  this 
earthly  life,  and  for  Thy  guiding  hand  along  the  way  of  his  pilgrimage, 
we  give  Thee  thanks  and  praise. 

"Especially  do  we  bless  Thee  for  Thy  grace  that  kindled  in  his  heart 
the  love  of  Thy  dear  name;  that  enabled  him  to  fight  the  good  fight  of 
faith,  to  endure  unto  the  end,  and  to  obtain  the  victory. 

"We  thank  Thee  that  his  trials  and  temptations  being  ended,  his 
spirit  is  at  home  in  Thy  presence,  at  whose  right  hand  dwelleth  peace  and 
joy. 

"We  commend  to  Thee  the  members  of  his  household,  so  precious  and 
dear  to  him  in  life,  whom  he  loved  and  cared  for  with  the  abandon  and  ten- 
derness of  one  who  lived  most  truly  in  the  lives  of  those  most  dear  to  him. 
As  they  bow  in  dutiful  submission  this  day  to  the  will  of  God,  may  they 
feel  some  measure  of  compensation  for  the  temporary  loss  of  his  bodily 
presence  in  the  enrichment  of  their  lives  by  his  godly  example  through  the 
years  gone  by,  and  the  unstinted,  joyous  bestowment  upon  them  of  his 
unwavering  affection  and  devotion. 

"Upon  the  brave,  devoted  companion  of  his  cares  and  sorrows,  his 
joys  and  happiness,  extending  over  so  many  golden  years,  and  who  now 
sits  in  the  shadow  of  bereavement  and  feels  so  keenly  the  shock  of  an 
interrupted  companionship  which  has  brought  such  lasting  peace  and 
happiness  into  both  their  lives — upon  her,  0  Lord,  bestow  the  choicest 
gift  of  Thy  comforting  grace.  We  commend  her  to  Thee  and  to  Thy  care 
and  consideration,  praying  that  she  may  experience  the  reality  of  Thy 
presence  and  the  sustaining  power  of  Thy  fellowship  to  bear  her  up  and 
give  her  strength  and  courage  in  anticipation  of  a  morning's  joy  with  him 
and  with  Thee  when  the  day  is  done. 


-[9]- 


"We  beseech  Thee  to  give  to  these  stalwart  sons  and  to  this  daughter 
who  now  fill  their  places  in  life  and  in  the  church  of  God  with  such  useful- 
ness, a  double  portion  of  his  spirit  to  guard  and  inspire  and  sustain  them 
through  all  the  way  along  which  they  still  shall  walk  in  coming  days,  and, 
through  them,  to  their  own  households  and  loved  ones  to  the  end  of  the 
journey. 

"May  these  brothers  and  sisters  who  are  filled  with  grief  over  their 
loss  today,  thank  God  for  the  life  and  example  of  him  whom  they  trusted 
and  loved,  and  find  Thee  able  to  sustain  and  keep  them  in  this  hour  of 
their  need. 

"And  upon  us  all,  0  Lord,  who  have  known  him  and  felt  the  uplift  of 
his  great  heart  and  life,  may  Thy  grace  be  given  to  profit  by  his  example 
and  to  walk  a  little  nearer  Thee  because  he  has  lived  among  us. 

"And  now,  0  Lord  God,  hear  our  prayer  and  give  us  peace.  Vouchsafe 
unto  us  strength  for  whatever  battles  may  yet  intervene  between  us  and 
the  close  of  the  day.  And  in  the  resurrection  morn,  when  we  shall  all  stand 
before  Thee,  give  us  the  kind  of  meeting  with  our  loved  ones  for  which  we 
yearn,  the  clear  vision  of  the  faces  that  now  fade  before  our  eyes  across  the 
mists  of  the  valley  until  we  behold  them  no  more  among  us.  Watch  the 
sleeping  places  of  our  loved  ones,  till,  over  the  hills  of  time,  the  angel  of 
Thy  glory  shall  come  again  and  crown  Thy  saints  with  everlasting  life 
For  Jesus'  sake — Amen/' 

The  Reverend  J.  W.  Smith,  D.D. 

"I  cannot  say,  alnd  I  will  not  say 
That  he  is  dead.    He  is  just  away! 
With  a  cheery  smile,  and  a  wave  of  the  hand, 
He  has  wandered  into  an  unknown  land, 

And  left  us  dreaming  how  very  fair 

It  needs  must  be,  since  he  lingers  there." 

(James  Whitcomb  Riley) 

"I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
Their  fronded  palms  in  air; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  his  love  and  care." 

(John  Greenleaf  Whittier) 

"Sunset  and  evening  star, 
And  one  clear  call  for  me! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar 
When  I  put  out  to  sea. 


-[10]- 


But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep. 
Too  full  tor  sound  and  foam. 

When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep, 
Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark! 

And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell. 

When  I  embark. 

For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place. 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 

I  hope  to  see  my  pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crossed  the  bar." 

(Alfred  Tennyson) 
THE  CHOIR  SANG:  "JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL" 

"Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  nearer  waters  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high! 
Hide  me,  0  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  be  past; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

0  receive  my  soul  at  last! 

"Other  refuge  have  I  none; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee: 
Leave,  ah!  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me: 
All  my  trust  on  thee  is  staved, 

All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring; 
Cover  my  defenseless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

"Thou,  0  Christ,  art  all  I  want; 

More  than  all  in  thee  I  find; 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint, 

Heal  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind. 
Just  and  holy  is  thy  name, 

1  am  all  unrighteousness; 
False  and  full  of  sin  I  am. 

Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace." 

(Charles  Weslet) 


-fill- 


ADDRESS:  "THE  MAN" 
The  Reverend  R.  M.  Courtney 

"As  we  turn  to  this  Book  that  meant  so  much  to  brother  Lambeth  we 
find  a  man  with  his  face  uplifted  to  God  and  asking  this  question,  "What 
is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him,  and  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou 
visitest  him?"  This  questioner  with  his  perplexing  question  finds  the 
answer  as  he  looks  at  man  in  the  presence  of  God.  There  it  is  that  he 
discovers  the  nature  of  man  and  the  possibilities  of  his  nature.  There  he 
discovers  that  there  is  a  kinship  between  God  and  man.  Having  made 
this  discovery  it  would  be  surprising  if  God  did  not  think  of  man  and 
visit  him  and  enter  into  fellowship  with  him. 

Along  with  the  question  raised  by  the  Psalmist,  there  is  another  question 
that  rises  in  our  minds  this  afternoon,  and  that  is,  what  is  it  that  causes 
one  man  to  mean  so  much  to  other  men?  This  afternoon  there  are  thou- 
sands of  hearts  that  are  turning  this  way.  There  are  thousands  who  have 
a  sense  of  personal  loss  because  brother  Lambeth  has  gone  away.  Men  of 
all  classes  were  drawn  to  him  and  loved  him.  There  was  something  about 
him  that  made  his  life  full  of  meaning  to  black  and  white,  rich  and  poor, 
educated  and  uneducated,  old  men  and  women,  young  people  and  little 
children.  These  streets  lined  as  they  were  by  the  sorrowing  multitudes 
of  this  city  as  we  came  to  the  church  speak  more  eloquently  than  any 
words  of  the  place  he  occupied  in  the  hearts  of  those  among  whom  he  has 
lived  his  whole  life. 

"Why  did  he  mean  so  much  to  so  many?  The  answer  to  this  question 
is  found  in  the  character  and  life  of  the  man.  His  character  was  formed  and 
his  life  was  lived  with  emphasis  on  the  essential  verities  of  life.  He  was  a 
business  man  who  did  not  allow  the  pressure  of  the  material  things  to 
dwarf  his  spiritual  nature  or  narrow  his  sympathies.  He  used  his  business 
as  a  means  to  develop  character  and  enrich  his  own  life  and  the  lives  of 
others.  Thus  he  became  a  man  whose  character  was  a  constant  inspi- 
ration to  multitudes  of  men  who  came  into  contact  with  him. 

"Since  the  emphasis  in  his  life  was  on  the  spiritual  the  passing  of  the 
years  brought  to  him  a  constant  deepening  and  enrichment.  The  outward 
or  physical  man  might  become  weakened  as  the  years  passed,  but  the 
inward  or  spiritual  man  was  renewed  day  by  day.  His  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  men  and  in  good  causes  deepened  as  time  passed  and  his  sympathies 
were  more  tende:  and  wider  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  than  ever  before. 
Measured  hy  interests  and  responses  his  was  a  great  soul.  I  think  I  have 
never  known  a  man  who  seemed  to  enjoy  more  than  he  hearing  the  truths 
of  the  Gospel  proclaimed.  He  was  indeed  a  fine  listener  and  helped  his 
pastor  by  listening  sympathetically. 

"It  seems  to  me  that  the  significance  of  his  life  is  found  in  the  greatness 
and  goodness  of  his  soul.  Does  not  this  answer  the  question  as  to  why  he 


—[12]— 


meant  so  much  to  so  many?  Truly  a  good  man  has  lived  among  us.  The 
inspiration  and  influence  of  that  life  abide  and  will  abide  with  us.  We  shall 
not  forget  this  good  man." 


ADDRESS:  "THE  CITIZEN" 
The  Reverend  M.  L.  Kesler,  D.D. 

There  are  two  floral  offerings  in  this  great  array  of  flowers  that  are 
symbolic  and  very  suggestive.  They  are  a  chair  given  by  the  superintendent 
and  foremen  of  the  Standard  Chair  Company,  and  an  anchor  given  by  the 
men  who  stand  by  the  machines.  The  chair  symbolizes  a  great  industry 
and  also  suggests  the  first  empty  chair  in  the  long  life  of  this  remarkable 
family.  The  anchor  symbolizes  how  our  friend,  Colonel  Lambeth,  is  an- 
chored in  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  employees.  But  he  lived  far  beyond 
the  bounds  of  his  own  interests. 

He  was  a  life  force  felt  over  every  foot  of  this  town  and  surrounding 
territory  during  a  period  of  many  years.  By  nature  endowed  with  qualities 
of  leadership,  he  easily  marched  at  the  head  of  the  column.  Every  form  of 
welfare  felt  his  touch.  For  many  years  he  was  the  chairman  of  the  school 
board  of  Thomasville,  and  was  always  at  the  front  in  every  movement 
for  the  betterment  of  the  community,  materially,  intellectually  and 
morally.  His  friendships  and  benefactions  knew  no  class  or  color  lines. 
He  knew  and  loved  people  as  such,  and  was  gloriously  human  in  all  his 
contacts. 

No  man  has  meant  more  to  the  industrial  progress  of  our  town.  Not 
the  first  to  make  chairs,  but  he  was  the  founder  of  the  larger  enterprise 
that  has  made  us  known  far  and  wide  as  the  "Chair  Town,"  and  the 
builders  of  the  largest  chair  in  the  world. 

He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  securing  the  belt  line  from  the 
Southern  Railway,  which  was  in  reality  the  advance  guard  of  a  zoning 
system,  making  possible  the  development  of  large  manufacturing  in- 
dustries. 

In  all  this  we  must  recognize  large  spiritual  values.  They  give  whole- 
some progress  to  the  community,  for  if  the  community  goes  down  the 
school  and  the  churches  cannot  go  up.  So  the  life  force  of  this  captain  of 
industry  in  benevolent  and  constructive  influence  has  reached  out  through 
the  life  of  the  community  and  on  through  the  commerce  of  our  time  to 
its  trail's  end,  and  thus  he  becomes  a  citizen  of  the  world. 


—I  13  ]- 


ADDRESS:  "THE  CHURCHMAN 


The  Reverend  C.  S.  Kirkpatrick 

"If  there  was  any  church  enterprise  in  which  he  was  not  interested, 
I  never  found  it  out.  He  has  had  a  big  hand  in  putting  over  more  different 
church  enterprises  than  any  layman  I  know.  He  was  interested  in  Greens- 
boro College,  Rutherford  College,  Duke  University,  and  all  else  we  are 
doing  for  education.  He  helped  locate  our  Assembly  Ground  at  Lake 
Junaluska.  For  years  he  has  supported  generously  our  Children's  Home  at 
Winston-Salem.  He  has  thousands  of  dollars  in  China  doing  mission  work. 
His  great  heart  responded  generously  to  the  needs  of  our  worn-out  preach- 
ers. He  said  to  me  recently  that  if  he  got  well  he  would  go  with  me  to  some 
of  the  churches  in  the  interest  of  superannuate  endowment.  This  would 
be  nothing  new,  since  he  aided  this  cause  in  the  past  by  donations  and 
personal  effort. 

"His  success  in  business  he  attributed  to  the  Lord's  help.  'In  part- 
nership with  the  Lord'  is  the  way  he  expressed  it.  This  was  no  meaningless 
phrase,  as  he  from  time  to  time  put  thousands  of  dollars  to  working  for  the 
purposes  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

"He  loved  his  church  devotedly.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  upon 
the  sessions  of  the  Annual  Conference.  Many  missed  his  kindly  face  from 
our  midst  this  year  and  inquired  the  reason.  We  shall  miss  him  sorely  in 
our  local  church.  We  turned  to  him  for  counsel  and  advice  and  he  never 
failed  vis  once.  No  pastor  ever  had  a  better  friend. 

"His  home  life  was  ideal.  One  could  but  be  impressed  by  his  solicitude 
for  the  welfare  of  wife,  children  and  grand-children.  It  gave  him  great 
satisfaction  that  every  child  is  a  Christian  and  church  worker,  and  one  the 
pastor  of  one  of  our  great  churches.  The  family  altar  dated  back  fifty 
years  to  the  day  of  his  marriage.  What  a  happy  occasion  the  observance  of 
the  golden  wedding,  October  15,  1928. 

"His  last  message  to  us  in  the  church  was  memorable.  Many  of  us 
felt  it  was  his  parting  instruction,  as  in  weakness  he  stood  and  spoke  of  the 
deep  things  of  God.  He  directed  us  how  to  go  and  what  to  do.  Then  he 
commended  us  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  gracious  and  loving  Heavenly 
Father.  We  were  reminded  of  St.  Paul's:  'I  have  fought  a  good  light.' 

"Heaven  was  as  real  to  him  as  Thomasville.  He  spoke  ol  his  departure 
as  one  who  anticipated  a  happy  journey. 

"He  maintained  his  sunny  spirit  to  the  end.  The  discomforts  of  the 
last  weeks  brought  no  clouds  to  his  skies.  His  love  of  flowers,  little  children 
and  all  else  beautiful,  remained  to  the  end.  A  little  neighbor  girl  when  told 
of  his  going,  asked:  'Will  I  not  get  to  see  him  smile  again?'  We  shall  all 
miss  his  cheery  smile  and  his  Christian  sympathy  and  counsel." 


-[14]— 


ADDRESS:  "THE  IMMORTAL  SPIRIT' 


Bishop  Collins  Denny,  D.D. 

While  it  is  a  matter  of  revelation  it  is  a  perfectly  palpable  fact  with- 
out revelation  that  it  is  appointed  unto  man  once  to  die.  Every  man  of 
every  preceding  generation  has  kept  the  appointment,  every  man  of  this 
generation  will  keep  it,  and  every  man  of  succeeding  generations  through- 
out this  dispensation  will  keep  it.  It  is  an  appointment  that  nobody  can 
fail  to  meet.  It  is  appointed  to  man  once  to  die,  and  are  we  to  understand 
that  man,  the  head  of  God's  creation,  is  the  most  miserable  failure  of 
Almighty  God?  That  when  you  come  to  death  you  reach  the  ultimate  end 
of  man?  But  if  you  pay  attention  to  the  advance  of  knowledge  you  know 
that  that  is  not  the  case  with  anything  else,  and  yet  men  are  busying  them- 
selves with  this  question  of  the  immortal  spirit. 

"Through  the  centuries  moans  the  old  question,  If  a  man  die,  shall 
he  live  again?  While  so  much  else  is  immortal,  is  man,  God's  highest  work, 
His  greatest  failure?  That  would  really  mean  not  simply  that  man  is  a 
failure;  it  would  mean  that  God  Himself  is  a  failure.  The  only  creation  of 
Almighty  God  in  which  righteousness  can  find  its  fruition,  where  the  ap- 
preciation of  beauty  can  awaken  its  truest  response,  where  goodness  can 
grow  to  its  highest  height,  could  not  possibly  be  God's  greatest  creative 
work  if  death  be  man's  end.  So  Jesus  stood  beside  the  grave,  and  beside 
those  who  sorrowed,  saying  T  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life.'  He  stood 
before  the  scorners  of  his  day,  who  denied  the  existence  of  any  resurrection 
and  of  any  spirit  whatever,  and  said,  'Have  you  not  read  that  God  is  the 
God  of  Abraham  and  the  God  of  Isaac  and  the  God  of  Jacob?'  He  is  not 
the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living;  and  this  spark  of  life  kindled  by  the 
creative  power  of  Almighty  God  in  human  personality  is  an  indestructible 
spark  of  life.  Death  cannot  quench  it;  and  while  the  apostle  in  his  great 
song  of  triumph  and  praise  speaks  oi  death  as  the  last  enemy,  he  doesn't 
deny  that  it  is  an  enemy.  He  does  deny  that  it  is  a  conquering  enemy,  and 
over  it  and  its  ways  and  all  its  destruction  he  leaves  a  hope,  indeed  an 
assurance,  and  magnifies  the  cry  of  the  prophet  who  centuries  before  had 
preceded  him,  and  said,  '0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave,  where  is 
thy  victory?' 

"Now,  I  thank  God  lor  a  gospel  that  brings  to  us  the  knowledge  of 
the  triumph  of  the  Son  of  God  over  the  entire  personality,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit.  Whatever  may  be  included  rightly  in  any  of  them,  none  of  it  is 
wasted.  What  is  man,  inch  high  above  the  grave/  whose  earthly  life  is 
quenched  by  the  smallest  microbe  that  may  float  his  way?  What  is  man 
as  you  compare  him  with  the  great  universe  in  which  we  live,  whose 
extension  is  being  constantly  shown  to  us  not  only  in  new  worlds  but  in 
new  systems  of  worlds?  Not  only  is  our  own  earth  contracted  into  a  very 
small  portion  of  this  solar  system,  but  our  solar  system,  as  we  are  taught 
by  the  rapidly  increasing  knowledge  of  our  modern  day,  dwarfed  itself, 
as  well  as  the  earth  which  is  but  a  comparatively  small  speck. 


— i  151- 


"What  then  is  man  that  God  is  mindful  of  him?  He  is  only  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels,  and  only  God  knows  what  that  may  mean,  only  a 
little  lower  than  the  angels.  He  has  a  destiny  that  is  so  great  that  in  order 
to  achieve  it  and  to  perfect  it  the  Son  of  God  came  down  to  take  our  life, 
lived  through  our  experience,  sin  alone  excepted,  suffered  whatever  pain 
and  poverty  and  sorrow  could  come  to  man  and  a  terrible  and  ignominious 
death  could  bring,  in  order  that  He  might  lift  us  as  an  immortal  soul,  as  a 
son.  You  could  blot  out  all  this  material  universe, 

'Star  after  star  irom  heaven's  high  arch  may  rush, 
Suns  sink  on  suns,  and  systems  on  systems  crush; 
Headlong,  extinct  to  one  dark  center  fall, 
And  death  and  night  and  chaos  mingle  all,' 
and  there  would  not  be  a  flash  of  consciousness  in  it  all. 

"But  this  little  thing  called  man,  a  personality  only  inch  high  above 
the  grave,  whose  very  life  is  almost  always  limited  to  the  narrow  sphere  of 
three  score  years  and  ten,  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  it  should  go  to  four 
score  years,  yet  that  strength  is  still  accompanied  by  labor  and  sorrow. 
Man  does  not  live  a  day,  not  a  moment  without  the  flash  of  consciousness. 
He  knows  pleasure,  he  knows  pain,  joy  and  sorrow,  hope  and  depression, 
and  best  of  all  the  love  that  serves.  He  can  stand  up  before  the  face  of  all 
the  systems  of  suns  and  worlds  in  the  great  unlimited  space,  and  say 
without  fear  of  contradiction,  'I  am  greater  than  all,  for  I  am  made  in 
God's  image'  and  the  spark  of  his  deity  breathes  in  my  soul.  The  immortal 
spirit!  Thank  God  it  is  an  immortal  spirit  that  death  cannot  touch.  It  is 
a  very  interesting  thing  to  me  that  it  is  said  to  have  been  an  old,  old 
custom,  so  old  that  nobody  has  been  able  to  trace  it  to  its  origin,  that 
among  the  Asiatic  people,  particularly  among  the  Jews,  when  they  laid 
away  a  man  they  struck  the  ground  three  times  and  called  his  name  and 
received  no  answer.  So  they  called  it  shaal  out  of  which  we  get  sheol — 
place  of  departed  spirits!  The  man  is  there,  he  has  departed  from  us,  he 
answers  us  not,  but  he  has  not  ceased  to  exist. 

"The  Greeks  took  a  different  sense,  the  sense  of  sight.  There  was 
something  dark  about  death  to  them.  They  looked  into  the  gathering 
gloom  and  caught  not  the  object.  He  has  gone  into  hades,  which  comes 
from  their  word  'to  look.'  But  when  Jesus  came,  and  thank  God  he  did 
come  and  live  and  kindled  a  fire  that  has  never  gone  out  and  will  not  go 
out,  He  brought  life  and  immortality  to  life.  Jacob  said  'I  shall  go  down  to 
Sheol  to  my  son.  When  I  get  there  he  will  be  there,  and  he  will  be  my  son.' 
David  said  of  the  dead  babe,  T  shall  go  to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to 
me.'  T,  a  person,  'him,'  a  person.  Death  is  not  the  end. 

"Yes,  the  spirit  is  immortal,  and,  my  brother,  you  and  I  are  not  going 
to  be  conquered  by  death.  There  will  be  some  shadow  on  death  when  it 
surprises  us,  for  death  almost  or  possibly  always  surprises  us  when  it 
comes,  in  spite  of  its  inevitability.  It  won't  put  out  our  light,  it  won't 
quench  our  goal,  it  won't  obliterate  our  existence. 

"For  a  good  many  years  I  had  the  privilege  of  quite  an  intimate 


-[  16]- 


acquaintance  with  our  brother  in  whose  respect  we  are  gathered  here.  To 
recognize  his  high,  true,  pure  character  we  have  gathered  here  today. 
Selecting  from  many  attractive  features  of  his  life,  I  take  this  one,  he 
always  saw  the  best  that  was  in  his  range  of  vision.  His  mind  was  not  taken 
up  with  his  disgusts,  but  with  his  pleasures  and  his  joys.  There  is  plenty 
in  the  world  to  disgust  us.  There  is  plenty  to  make  us  pessimistic,  but,  my 
friends,  there  is  plenty  that  will  kindle  the  best  in  the  soul  of  any  man, 
and  it  is  to  be  found  by  the  one  who  will  look  for  it.  There  was  always  a 
smile  with  which  he  greeted  you,  and  when  you  paid  him  a  visit  his  attitude 
was  that  you  were  conferring  a  favor  on  him,  rather  than  that  he  was 
conferring  a  favor  on  you  by  extending  his  hospitality.  We  knew  his 
gracious  spirit  here,  and  shall,  through  that  faith  which  he  exemplified,  as 
he  passed  on  towards  his  eternal  home,  know  him  there.  Thank  God  for 
the  privilege  and  the  ground  of  believing,  and  how  I  pity  those  who  fail 
to  accept  the  truth  and  to  enjoy  and  to  look  forward  to  a  future  life  to  be 
spent  with  God  and  all  His  saints.  We  have  not  forever  parted  with  those 
we  love.  We  shall  meet  them  again.  We  may  have  our  sorrows,  our  tem- 
porary parting  with  our  friends  and  loved  ones,  but  we  shall  ultimately 
reach  a  land  which  pours  over  memory  only  repose  and  takes  from  it  only 
regret.  We  shall  meet  again  with  those  with  whom  we  have  held  high 
fellowship,  and  with  the  choice  spirits  who  have  blessed  the  world.  Let  the 
characters  they  have  developed,  the  faith  they  have  manifested,  the  good 
they  have  done,  the  service  they  have  rendered,  the  marks  they  have  left 
that  others  may  be  able  to  see  the  way  along  which  they  took  their  journey, 
and  to  follow  in  it,  encourage  us  that  we  may  also  come  into  the  land  of 
light  where  no  sorrow  ever  comes  and  no  tears  are  ever  shed,  and  where 
death  never  enters." 

draper 

The  Reverend  J.  K.  Pfohl,  D.  D. 

"It  all  comes  from  Thee,  O  Father,  all  the  good  that  this  servant  of 
Thine  has  wrought.  All  that  has  been  said  of  him  as  a  man,  as  a  citizen, 
as  a  churchman  and  as  an  immortal  spirit  was  made  possible  by  Thee. 
Thou,  the  giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  didst  grant  him  wisdom, 
grace  and  strength  for  the  service  which  has  been  recounted  in  our  hearing 
today;  and,  while  we  are  in  the  midst  of  sorrow  and  grief  over  his  going, 
yet  we  do  not  sorrow  as  those  who  have  no  praise  in  their  hearts  for  Thee 
and  what  Thou  hast  wrought  through  him.  It  was  in  Thee  that  he  lived 
and  moved  and  had  his  being/  even  as  it  is  with  us.  Thou,  the  great  Creator- 
God,  didst  make  possible  man,  with  his  great  possibilities  for  service  and 
blessing  and  we  thank  Thee,  with  grateful  hearts,  for  what  Thou  didst  do 
for  him  and  through  him  who  has  now  gone  from  us.  We  are  glad  to  believe 
that,  though  we  shall  see  him  here  no  more,  yet,  much  of  the  influence  of 
his  life  and  labor  will  abide  to  bless  this  and  other  generations;  and,  tor 
this,  too,  we  thank  and  praise  Thee. 


—[17]— 


"Then,  Father,  remember,  we  pray  Thee,  with  comfort  and  grace, 
those  who  feel  most  keenly  the  loss  which  this  death  has  occasioned.  We 
pray  especially  for  her,  the  faithful  companion  of  our  brother,  who  for 
fifty  years  of  his  pilgrim  way  walked  by  his  side,  sharing  his  joys  and  sor- 
rows and  encouraging  him  in  his  Christian  endeavors.  Comfort  her  with 
Thine  own  comfort  and  sustain  her  by  Thy  grace;  yea,  do  Thou  give  to 
her  a  double  portion  of  the  comfort  with  which  Thou  dost  comfort  those 
who  mourn. 

"We  pray,  too,  for  the  sons  and  the  daughter,  so  tenderly  loved  and 
cherished  by  their  father.  May  they  always  prize  as  their  choicest  heritage, 
the  godly  life  and  example  which  he  set  before  them  and  may  father's  God 
be  their  God.  May  it  be  their  purpose,  too,  to  carry  on,  as  best  they  can, 
the  unfinished  work  which  he  has  left  them. 

"Upon  these  grand-children,  we  also  ask  Thy  tender  and  loving  bless- 
ing. May  they  grow  to  be  godly  men  and  women,  seeking  to  do  their  full 
part  in  life  and  emulating  the  example  of  their  diligent  and  faithful  grand- 
sire. 

"We  would  pray  for  this  congregation,  which  has  lost  one  of  its  ablest 
and  most  devoted  leaders.  We  would  pray,  too,  for  this  Church,  the  great 
Methodist  Church  of  our  southland,  which  will  be  deprived  of  the  counsel 
and  enthusiastic  help  of  one  who  had  been  for  long  an  earnest  supporter 
of  all  her  efforts.  Raise  up  those  who  will  fill  the  places  made  vacant  in  the 
ranks  of  active  workers  and  let  Thy  cause  not  suffer  loss. 

"Then,  Lord,  we  pray  for  ourselves,  for  each  one  of  the  many  hundreds 
gathered  for  this  funeral  hour.  Remind  us  how  true  it  is  that  Tt  is  ap- 
pointed unto  all  men  to  die;'  yet,  let  us  not  be  dismayed  by  the  thought. 
Through  death  Thou  art  prepared  to  open  up  for  us  a  life  of  wider  and 
fuller  opportunity  than  that  which  we  have  known  here.  These  immortal 
spirits  of  ours  made  in  Thine  own  image  and  made  but  'a  little  lower  than 
the  angels,'  are  destined  for  greater  things  than  we  have  yet  dreamed  of, 
if  we  but  love  Thee  and  seek  to  do  Thy  will.  Oh,  help  us  today  to  glimpse 
Him  who  once  said,  T  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life.'  Enable  us  to 
lay  hold  of  His  gracious  words,  '1  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,'  and 
may  we  see  the  demonstration  of  the  great  truth  in  the  triumph  of  that 
glad  Easter  day  when  He  burst  the  bonds  of  death  and  the  grave  and  came 
forth  victorious.  We  know  that  if  we  are  securely  anchored  in  Him  by 
faith,  we  too  shall  rise  from  the  death  which  awaits  us  and,  in  the  glory  that 
lies  beyond  shall  serve  Him  throughout  the  endless  ages  of  eternity. 

"We  mourn  today,  but  not  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  We  sorrow,  yet 
we  are  not  cast  down.  We  hold  together  a  solemn  and  tender  funeral 
service,  yet  we  celebrate  a  victory.  Thou  didst  give  to  this  husband  and 
father  and  brother,  in  the  hour  of  his  going,  a  great  victory  and  Thou  wilt 
give  it  to  us,  too,  if  we  are  faithful  and  true.  Today  we  say  with  new  and 
fuller  meaning  and  with  greater  praise,  'Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us 
the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 

"So,  we  press  on,  encouraged  and  strengthened,  determined  to  run 


-[  18]- 


our  race,  to  accomplish  our  task,  and  then  to  go  to  receive  the  crown  which 
Thou  hast  laid  up  for  those  who  love  Thee. 

"Hear  us,  0  Father,  help  us,  bless  us;  for  we  ask  all  these  things  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  Amen." 


THE  CHOIR  SANG:  "HOW  FIRM  A  FOUNDATION" 

"How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  his  excellent  word! 
What  more  can  he  say  than  to  you  he  hath  said. 
To  you  who  for  refuge  to  Jesus  have  fled? 

"In  every  condition— in  sickness,  in  health; 
In  poverty's  vale,  or  abounding  in  wealth; 
At  home  and  abroad;  on  the  land,  on  the  sea — 
As  thy  days  may  demand,  shall  thy  strength  ever  be. 

"Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee,  O  be  not  dismayed, 
For  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  thee  aid; 
I'll  strengthen  thee,  help  thee,  and  cause  thee  to  stand, 
Upheld  by  my  righteous,  omnipotent  hand. 

"When  through  the  deep  waters  I  call  thee  to  go, 
The  rivers  of  woe  shall  not  thee  overflow; 
For  I  will  be  with  thee  thy  troubles  to  bless, 
And  sanctify  to  thee  thy  deepest  distress." 

(George  Keith) 


ORGAN  RECESSIONAL 


-[19]- 


Hit  tfje  #rabe 


Bishop  Collins  Denny,  D.D. 

"Man  that  is  born  of  woman  is  of  few  days,  and  full  of  trouble.  He 
cometh  forth  like  a  flower,  and  is  cut  down :  he  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow,  and 
continueth  not. 

"In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death:  of  whom  may  we  seek  for  succor, 
but  of  thee,  0  Lord,  who  for  our  sins  art  justly  displeased? 

"Yet,  0  Lord  God  most  holy,  0  Lord  most  mighty,  0  holy  and  most 
merciful  Saviour,  deliver  us  not  into  the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death. 

"Thou  knowest,  Lord,  the  secrets  of  our  hearts:  shut  not  thy  merciful 
ears  to  our  prayers,  but  spare  us,  Lord  most  holy,  O  God  most  mighty, 
O  holy  and  merciful  Saviour,  thou  most  worthy  Judge  eternal,  suffer  us 
not  at  our  last  hour  for  any  pains  of  death  to  fall  from  thee. 

"Forasmuch  as  the  spirit  of  our  deceased  brother  hath  returned  to 
God  who  gave  it,  we  therefore  commit  his  body  to  the  ground,  earth  to 
earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust;  looking  for  the  general  resurrection  in 
the  last  day,  and  the  life  of  the  world  to  come,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  at  whose  second  coming  in  glorious  majesty  to  judge  the  world, 
the  earth  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  their  dead;  and  the  corruptible  bodies 
of  those  who  sleep  in  him  shall  be  changed,  and  made  like  unto  his  own 
glorious  body,  according  to  the  mighty  working  whereby  he  is  able  to 
subdue  all  things  unto  himself. 

"I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  the 
dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors. 

"Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  thy  name;  thy  kingdom 
come;  thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven;  give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread;  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us;  and  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil;  for 
thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

"0  merciful  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
resurrection  and  the  life;  in  whom  whosoever  believeth  shall  live,  though 
he  die;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  him,  shall  not  die  eternally: 
we  meekly  beseech  thee,  O  Father,  to  raise  us  from  the  death  of  sin  unto 
the  life  of  righteousness;  that  when  we  shall  depart  this  life  we  may  rest  in 
him;  and  at  the  general  resurrection  on  the  last  day  may  be  found  accept- 
able in  thy  sight,  and  receive  that  blessing  which  thy  well-beloved  Son 
shall  then  pronounce  to  all  that  love  and  fear  thee,  saying,  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 


-[  20]- 


foundation  of  the  world.  Grant  this,  we  beseech  thee,  O  merciful  Father, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Mediator  and  Redeemer.  Amen. 

"The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all.  Amen." 

The  remaining  service  at  the  grave  was  conducted  by 
the  Masonic  Fraternity,  Doctor  Charles  A.  Julian,  Past 
Worshipful  Master,  officiating. 

Doctor  Julian 

"The  last  offices  paid  to  the  dead  are  only  useful  as  lectures  to  the 
living:  from  them  we  are  to  derive  instruction  and  to  consider  every 
solemnity  of  this  kind  as  a  summons  to  prepare  for  our  approaching  dis- 
solution. 

"Notwithstanding  the  various  mementoes  of  mortality  with  which  we 
daily  meet;  notwithstanding  Death  has  established  his  empire  over  all  the 
works  of  nature,  yet,  through  some  unaccountable  infatuation,  we  forget 
that  we  are  born  to  die;  we  go  on  from  one  design  to  another,  add  hope  to 
hope  and  lay  our  plans  for  the  employment  of  many  years,  till  we  are 
suddenly  alarmed  at  the  approach  of  Death,  when  we  least  expect  it,  and 
at  an  hour  which  we  probably  conclude  to  be  the  meridian  of  our  existence. 

"While  we  drop  the  sympathetic  tear  over  the  grave  of  our  deceased 
friend,  let  Charity  incline  us  to  throw  a  veil  over  his  foibles,  whatever  they 
may  have  been,  and  not  withhold  from  his  memory  the  praise  that  his 
virtues  may  have  claimed.  Suffer  the  apologies  of  human  nature  to  plead 
in  his  behalf.  Perfection  on  earth  has  never  been  attained.  The  wisest,  as 
well  as  the  best  of  men,  have  erred. 

"Let  the  present  example  excite  our  most  serious  thoughts  and 
strengthen  our  resolutions  of  amendment.  As  life  is  uncertain  and  all 
earthly  pursuits  are  vain,  let  us  no  longer  postpone  the  all  important  con- 
cern of  preparing  for  Eternity,  but  embrace  the  happy  moment,  while 
time  and  opportunity  offer,  to  provide  against  the  great  change,  when  all 
the  pleasures  of  this  world  shall  cease  to  delight,  and  the  reflections  of  a 
virtuous  and  holy  life  yield  the  only  comfort  and  consolation.  Thus,  our 
expectations  will  not  be  frustrated,  nor  we  be  hurried  unprepared  into  the 
presence  of  an  All-Wise  and  Powerful  Judge,  to  whom  the  secrets  of  all 
hearts  are  known. 

"Let  us,  while  in  this  state  of  existence,  support  with  propriety  the 
character  of  our  profession,  advert  to  the  nature  of  our  solemn  ties,  and 
pursue  with  assiduity  the  sacred  tenets  of  our  Order.  Then,  with  becoming 
reverence,  let  us  seek  the  favor  of  the  Eternal  God,  so  that  when  the  awful 
moment  of  death  arrives,  be  it  soon  or  late,  we  may  be  enabled  to  prosecute 
our  journey  without  dread  or  apprehension,  to  that  far  distant  country 
whence  no  traveler  returns. 

"This  Lamb  Skin,  or  white  leather  Apron,  is  an  emblem  of  Innocence 


-[21  ]- 


and  the  badge  of  a  Mason :  more  ancient  than  the  Golden  Fleece  or  Roman 
Eagle;  more  honorable  than  the  Star  and  Garter,  when  worthily  worn. 

"This  emblem  I  now  deposit  in  the  grave  of  our  deceased  Brother. 
By  this  we  are  reminded  of  the  universal  dominion  of  Death.  The  arm  of 
friendship  cannot  oppose  the  King  of  Terrors,  nor  the  charm  of  innocence 
elude  his  grasp.  This  grave,  that  coffin,  this  circle  of  mourning  friends, 
remind  us  that  we,  too,  are  mortal:  soon  shall  our  bodies  moulder  to  dust. 

"This  evergreen  is  an  emblem  of  our  faith  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  By  this  we  are  reminded  that  we  have  an  immortal  part  within  us 
which  shall  survive  the  grave,  and  which  shall  never,  never,  never  die." 

All  Members  in  Unison:  "The  will  of  God  is  accomplished.  So  mote 
it  be.  Amen.  We  cherish  his  memory  here,  we  commend  his  spirit  to  God 
who  gave  it,  and  commit  his  body  to  the  tomb." 

Doctor  Julian:  "From  time  immemorial,  it  has  been  the  custom 
among  the  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  the  request  of  a 
Brother,  to  accompany  his  remains  to  the  place  of  interment  and  there  to 
deposit  them  with  the  usual  formalities. 

"In  conformity  to  this  usage,  we  have  assembled  in  the  character  of 
Masons,  to  offer  up  to  his  memory  before  the  world,  the  last  tribute  of 
our  affection,  thereby  demonstrating  the  sincerity  of  our  past  esteem  for 
him  and  our  steady  attachment  to  the  principles  of  the  Order. 

"The  Great  Creator  having  been  pleased,  out  of  His  infinite  mercy, 
to  remove  our  Brother  from  the  cares  and  troubles  of  a  transitory  existence 
to  a  state  of  eternal  duration  and  thereby  to  weaken  the  chain  by  which 
we  are  united,  man  to  man,  may  we  who  survive  him  anticipate  our  ap- 
proaching fate,  and  may  we  be  more  strongly  cemented  in  the  ties  of  union 
and  friendship,  that  during  the  short  space  allotted  to  our  present  existence 
we  may  wisely  and  usefully  employ  our  time,  and  in  the  reciprocal  inter- 
course of  kind  and  friendly  acts,  mutually  promote  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  each  other. 

"Unto  the  grave  we  have  resigned  the  body  of  our  deceased  Brother. 
Earth  to  earth,  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes — there  to  remain  until  the 
Trumpet  shall  sound  on  the  Resurrection  Morn. 

"To  those  of  the  immediate  relatives  and  friends  who  are  most  heart 
stricken  at  the  loss  they  have  sustained,  we  have  but  little  of  this  world's 
consolation  to  offer.  We  can  only  sincerely,  deeply  and  most  affectionately 
sympathize  with  them  in  their  afflictive  bereavement  and  remind  them  that 
He  who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  Shorn  Lamb  looks  down  with  infinite 
compassion  upon  the  bereaved  in  the  hour  of  their  desolation  and  will 
fold  the  arms  of  His  love  and  protection  around  those  who  put  their  trvist 
in  Him. 

"We  can  cheerfully  leave  him  in  the  hands  of  a  Being  who  has  done 
all  things  well,  who  is  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders. 
Then  let  us  all  so  improve  this  solemn  warning,  that  on  the  great  day  of 
accounting  we  may  receive  from  the  Compassionate  Judge  the  welcome 


-[22]- 


invitation:  'Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  Kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.'  " 

MASONIC  PRAYER  READ  BY  DOCTOR  JULIAN 

"Almighty  and  Eternal  God,  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being,  and  before  Whom  all  men  must  appear  in  the  Judgment  Day,  to 
give  an  account  of  their  deeds  in  life,  we  who  are  daily  exposed  to  flying 
shafts  of  death  and  who  now  surround  the  grave  of  our  fallen  Brother, 
most  earnestly  beseech  Thee  to  impress  deeply  on  our  minds  the  solemnities 
of  this  day,  as  well  as  the  lamentable  occurrence  that  has  occasioned  them. 
Here  may  we  be  forcibly  reminded  that  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death, 
and  that  whatever  elevation  of  character  we  may  have  attained,  however 
upright  and  square  the  course  we  have  pursued,  yet  shortly  must  we  all 
submit  as  victims  of  its  destroying  power,  and  endure  the  humbling  level 
of  the  tomb,  until  the  last  loud  trump  shall  sound  the  summons  of  our 
resurrection  from  mortality  and  corruption. 

"May  we  have  Thy  divine  assistance,  0  Merciful  God,  to  redeem  our 
misspent  time;  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  Thou  hast 
assigned  us  in  the  erection  of  our  moral  edifice,  may  we  have  wisdom  from 
on  High  to  direct  us,  strength  commensurate  with  our  task  to  support  us, 
and  the  beauty  of  holiness  to  adorn  and  render  all  our  performances  ac- 
ceptable in  Thy  sight.  And  when  our  work  is  done  and  our  bodies  mingle 
with  the  Mother  Earth,  may  our  souls,  disengaged  from  the  cumbrous 
dust,  flourish  and  bloom  in  Eternal  Day  and  enjoy  that  rest  which  Thou 
hast  prepared  for  all  good  and  faithful  servants  in  that  spiritual  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  Amen." 


-123]- 


The  Reverend  C.  S.  Kirkpatrick  read  the  following  hymn 
and  pronounced  the  benediction: 

"Now  the  labourer's  task  is  o'er; 
Now  the  battle  day  is  past; 
Now  upon  the  farther  shore 
Lands  the  voyager  at  last. 
Father,  in  Thy  gracious  keeping 
Leave  we  now  Thy  servant  sleeping. 

"There  the  tears  of  earth  are  dried; 
There  its  hidden  things  are  clear; 
There  the  work  of  life  is  tried 
By  a  juster  Judge  than  here. 
Father,  in  Thy  gracious  keeping 
Leave  we  now  Thy  servant  sleeping. 

"  'Earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dust;' 
Calmly  now  the  words  we  say; 
Left  behind,  we  wait  in  trust 
For  the  Resurrection  day. 
Father,  in  Thy  gracious  keeping 
Leave  we  now  Thy  servant  sleeping." 

(John  Ellerton) 


"The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God, 
and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all.  Amen/' 


"The  abundant  life  is  determined  not  so  much  by  what  one  has  but 
rather  by  what  one  does.  Frank  Simmons  Lambeth  truly  enjoyed  the 
abundant  life  in  that  he  gave  to  his  community  that  indefinable  something 
called  personality.  For  more  years  than  most  people  like  to  think  about,  the 
life  of  Thomasville,  North  Carolina,  was  interwoven  with  his  life  in  an 
inextricable  way — they  were  one  and  inseparable.  To  think  of  Thomas- 
ville was  to  think  of  Colonel  Lambeth,  who  in  his  quiet  yet  forceful  manner, 
exercised  the  most  wholesome  type  of  leadership  in  the  life  of  a  growing 
industrial  community.  Not  only  was  he  a  pioneer  of  industry,  a  successful 
builder  of  enterprise,  but  a  staunch  layman  and  advocate  of  a  higher 
social  order.  Fairness  and  justice  characterized  his  every  act,  and  he  so 
lived  as  to  radiate  a  warmth  of  friendship  that  was  the  outpouring  of  a 
great  and  noble  heart. 

"Frank  Simmons  Lambeth  was  born  August  20,  1857,  near  Thomas- 
ville, the  son  of  David  T.  and  Caroline  Simmons  Lambeth.  His  boyhood 
was  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  performed  the  chores  that  con- 
tributed much  toward  his  physical  development  and  sturdiness  of  char- 
acter. He  was  tutored  by  the  late  Professor  I.  L.  Wright  and  entered 
Trinity  College  in  1877,  where  he  came  under  the  guidance  of  the  illustri- 
ous Braxton  Craven,  then  president  of  Trinity  College.  Although  his  so- 
journ at  Trinity  was  for  only  one  year,  he  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the  insti- 
tution and  went  forth  to  attain  his  place  in  life.  During  the  years  of 
struggling  under  Craven,  Trinity  College  had  the  support  of  this  loyal 
son,  and  he  easily  and  readily  grasped  the  opportunities  for  service  and 
progress  in  behalf  of  Alma  Mater.  He  was  one  of  the  few  alumni  whose 
lives  span  the  entire  period  of  Alma  Mater's  progress — from  a  small  college 
in  Randolph  County,  to  a  larger  college  at  Durham,  linked  up  with  the 
industry,  and  now  a  great  University  properly  endowed  and  equipped. 
He  delighted  much  in  the  work  of  Alma  Mater  and  was  on  hand  for  Com- 
mencement and  other  occasions,  whenever  his  health  permitted. 

"On  October  15,  1878,  Frank  S.  Lambeth  married  Miss  Ella  Arnold 
of  Randolph  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lambeth  shortly  thereafter  took  up 
their  residence  at  Thomasville  and  were  actively  identified  with  the  life 
of  that  community  in  every  way.  Their  golden  wedding  anniversary  was 
a  scene  of  happiness  and  charm,  indicating  their  wholesome  manner  of 
living  and  the  goodwill  of  people  from  all  walks  of  life  and  every  section 
of  the  state — a  great  multitude  of  friends  called  during  the  evening  to  wish 
them  well  and  to  pay  homage  to  a  couple  whose  lives  had  been  a  blessing 
and  a  joy  to  mankind. 

"Three  sons  and  a  daughter,  together  with  his  widow,  survive  Colonel 
Lambeth.  William  A.  Lambeth,  of  the  Class  of  1901,  is  pastor  of  Mount 


— [  25  1— 


Vernon  Place  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Charles  F.  Lambeth,  of  the  Class  of  1903,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Duke  University,  and  James  E.  Lambeth  of  the  Class  of  1906 
were  associated  with  their  father  in  the  management  of  the  Standard  Chair 
Company  of  Thomasville.  Mrs.  W.  W.  Rankin,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  Salem,  is 
the  wife  of  a  professor  of  Mathematics  in  Duke  University.  Colonel  Lam- 
beth was  a  true  patron  of  Trinity  College  and  Duke  University  and 
always  interested  in  her  welfare. 

"After  leaving  Trinity  College,  Frank  Lambeth  was  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Thomasville  with  his  father.  In  1898  he,  together 
with  his  brother  John  W.  Lambeth,  E.  W.  Cates  and  John  W.  Pope, 
founded  the  Standard  Chair  Company,  which  started  operations  in  a 
building  40  by  60  feet,  with  a  force  of  thirteen  and  a  capacity  of  two 
hundred  chairs  daily.  Colonel  Lambeth  later  bought  out  the  interests  of 
these  men  and  operated  the  business  for  himself  and  family,  taking  his 
two  sons  into  the  business  as  they  finished  college.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
furniture  industry  and  lived  to  see  this  flourishing  enterprise  rated  high 
among  the  industrials  of  Piedmont  Carolinas.  The  Standard  Chair  Com- 
pany has  grown  apace  with  the  demands  of  the  trade  and  today  operates 
on  a  large  scale  under  the  direction  of  Charles  F.  and  James  E.  Lambeth; 
the  plant  now  employs  over  250  workmen  in  the  shop  and  500  weavers  of 
seat  bottoms  in  homes,  and  has  a  capacity  of  two  thousand  chairs  a  day. 

"Colonel  Lambeth  was  appointed  to  the  Governor's  Staff  by  Locke 
Craig,  and  was  for  a  time  director  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad.  He  was 
always  actively  interested  in  the  political  life  of  Davidson  County  and 
was  tendered  office  on  several  occasions,  but  declined  to  accept.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  charities  and  public  welfare  for  many 
years,  and  was  the  first  chairman  of  the  Thomasville  School  Board.  He 
was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Methodist  Church  and  served  the 
church  in  many  ways— as  local  lay  leader,  as  delegate  to  conferences,  as 
member  of  conference  boards,  trustee  of  Greensboro  College,  and  patriarch. 
As  a  Mason  and  Rotarian  he  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  fraternal  and 
civic  affairs;  for  six  years  he  was  a  100  per  cent  Rotarian.  He  touched  life 
at  many  places  and  made  life  richer  and  fuller  by  his  touch." — (The 
Alumni  Register  of  Duke  University,  January,  1929.) 


"Col.  Frank  S.  Lambeth,  a  leading  citizen  and  successful  business 
man  of  Thomasville  and  also,  a  prominent  Methodist  layman  of  North 
Carolina,  died  at  his  home  in  Thomasville,  N.  C,  Thursday  afternoon, 
November  22. 

"For  a  year  and  three  months  he  had  been  almost  constantly  in  con- 
sultation with  the  best  physicians  that  could  be  obtained,  but  it  was 
learned  a  few  months  ago  that  his  days  were  almost  numbered.  He  was 
seventy-one  years  of  age. 

"The  funeral  services  were  held  Saturday  afternoon,  November  24, 

-I  26  J— 


at  Main  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  immense  crowd  over- 
taxed the  capacity  of  the  building  including  the  annex  and  other  space 
made  available  by  adjoining  rooms  to  the  auditorium.  The  crowd  was 
said  to  be  the  largest  that  has  been  known  to  assemble  for  a  funeral  service 
at  this  church  in  its  long  history. 

"Active  pallbearers  were  J.  R.  Blair,  J.  H.  Donnell,  E.  F.  Pepper, 
H.  B.  Shoaf,  L.  E.  Teague,  J.  T.  Yarbrough,  F.  B.  Gray,  R.  C.  Rapp. 
Honorary  pallbearers  were  Dr.  W.  P.  Few,  Dr.  R.  L.  Flowers,  Dr.  Frank 

C.  Brown,  all  of  Durham;  Dr.  Dred  Peacock,  Fred  N.  Tate,  O.  E.  Kearns, 

D.  A.  Stanton,  all  of  High  Point;  J.  A.  Green,  T.  J.  Finch,  Archibald 
Johnson,  all  of  Thomasville;  J.  L.  Rankin,  Altanta,  Ga.;  J.  A.  McAulay, 
Mt.  Gilead;  Col.  Wade  Harris,  Charlotte;  Robert  N.  Page,  Aberdeen; 
Geo.  W.  Mountcastle,  Geo.  L.  Hackney,  Lexington;  John  Wischebrink, 
New  York;  Dr.  C.  S.  Lawrence,  Leon  Cash,  B.  S.  Womble,  B.  B.  Walker, 
Winston-Salem;  Dr.  S.  B.  Turrentine,  Greensboro;  W.  R.  Odell  and  D.  B. 
Coletrane,  Concord;  William  C.  Hammer,  Asheboro;  A.  E.  Tate  and 
Rev.  Tom  A.  Sykes,  High  Point,  and  J.  B.  Akers,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"The  floral  offerings  about  the  chancel  and  pulpit  filled  the  entire 
front  of  the  church. 

"The  service  opened  with  the  familiar  strains  from  the  choir  singing 
'Abide  With  Me.'  Then  later  in  the  service  'Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul.' 
Scripture  reading  was  by  Dr.  A.  W.  Plyler  of  Greensboro,  and  prayer  was 
offered  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Barnhardt.  Poems  were  read  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Smith  of 
Durham.  'Colonel  Lambeth,  the  Man,'  was  discussed  by  Rev.  R.  M. 
Courtney  of  Concord,  a  former  pastor  here,  'Colonel  Lambeth,  the  Citizen,' 
by  Dr.  M.  L.  Kesler,  manager  of  the  Baptist  Orphange  here,  and  'Colonel 
Lambeth,  the  Churchman,'  by  Rev.  C.  S.  Kirkpatrick,  pastor  of  deceased. 

"  'The  Immortal  Spirit'  was  briefly  but  effectively  spoken  by  Bishop 
Collins  Denny  of  Richmond,  Va.  The  closing  prayer  was  by  Dr.  J.  K. 
Pfohl  of  Winston-Salem. 

"Masons  then  directed  in  the  procession  to  the  city  cemetery  where 
the  last  rites  were  carried  through  by  that  order,  of  which  Colonel  Lam- 
beth was  an  honored  past  master.  Dr.  Charles  A.  Julian,formerly  of  Thomas" 
ville,  now  of  Greensboro,  a  past  master  of  the  local  lodge,  led  in  the  burial 
ceremonies. 

"Surviving  are  his  wife,  who  was  Ella  Arnold,  daughter  of  the  late 
Penn  Arnold  of  Randolph  County;  three  sons,  Dr.  William  A.  Lambeth, 
of  Washington,  Charles  and  James  E.  Lambeth  of  Thomasville,  and  one 
daughter,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Rankin,  Jr.,  of  Durham,  all  of  whom  were  present 
when  the  end  came.  There  are  also  twelve  grandchildren,  three  brothers, 
John  W.  and  David  Thomas,  both  of  Thomasville,  and  Robert  L.  Lam- 
beth of  Thomasville  and  Greensboro;  three  sisters,  Mrs.  George  H.  Yow 
and  Mrs.  John  R.  Myers  of  Thomasville,  and  Mrs.  Edgar  Dixon  of  Win- 
ston-Salem. 

"Colonel  Lambeth  had  been  an  outstanding  leader  in  the  manufacture 
of  chairs  in  Thomasville  for  the  past  30  years,  filling  the  place  of  secretary 


-[27]- 


and  treasurer  of  the  Standard  Chair  Company  from  its  beginning  in  the 
year  1898.  This  enterprise  prospered  under  his  guiding  hand  from  the 
start  and  has  had  a  sure  and  gradual  growth  down  to  the  present.  Two  of 
his  sons,  Charles  F.  and  James  E.  Lambeth,  have  carried  the  main  re- 
sponsibility of  the  business  for  quite  a  while  in  order  that  their  father 
might  be  relieved  of  the  burden. 

"He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Board  of  Publication,  a  trustee 
of  Greensboro  College,  member  and  constant  attendant  at  his  annual 
conferences  as  well  as  all  services  of  his  church  in  Thomasville.  He  was  a 
liberal  contributor  to  every  good  cause  and  deeply  interested  in  all  the 
affairs  of  his  church.  He  loved  Methodist  preachers  and  they  loved  him. 
Almost  half  a  hundred  were  present  for  the  funeral  services. 

"To  his  children  and  his  grandchildren  he  leaves  a  rich  heritage.  His 
community  and  his  church  will  miss  him.  The  departure  of  this  genial 
spirit  who  magnified  the  best  that  was  in  men  and  institutions  leaves  a 
great  vacant  space  in  his  household,  in  his  home  town  of  Thomasville, 
and  in  the  Methodist  church  of  North  Carolina.  A  very  large  company  in 
every  station  of  society  mourns  the  departure  of  Col.  Frank  Lambeth/' — 
(North  Carolina  Christian  Advocate,  November  29,  1928.) 


"At  the  death  of  our  esteemed  and  beloved  fellow  townsman,  Colonel 
Frank  S.  Lambeth,  press  and  pulpit  have  vied  with  each  other  in  lavishing 
encomiums  upon  this  worthy  man,  and  none  who  knew  him  will  doubt 
but  that  he  deserved  all  that  has  been  said.  He  has  been  praised  as  a  man, 
a  citizen,  a  churchman,  and  a  pioneer  of  industry,  and  in  each  of  these 
circles  he  was  outstanding.  But  the  people  of  Thomasville  feel  that  they 
have  lost  more  than  their  foremost  citizen,  more  than  a  leading  church- 
man, more  than  a  captain  of  industry.  The  people  of  this  city  have  been 
bereft  of  a  true  and  loyal  friend,  a  man  who  could  always  be  counted  on 
and  who  was  ever  true  and  faithful.  His  genial  disposition  and  optimistic 
view  of  life  won  the  love  of  thousands  who  knew  him.  He  had  friends  in 
all  walks  of  life,  from  the  humblest  to  the  wealthiest,  to  whom  his  love  of 
humanity  appealed  and  who  could  not  have  been  reached  by  the  mere 
man  of  business  enterprise. 

"Colonel  Lambeth  was  a  man  who  always  looked  on  the  bright  side 
of  life.  Even  during  the  last  few  months  of  his  life,  when  his  health  was 
broken  and  he  knew  that  his  expectation  of  life  was  short,  he  was  always 
bright  and  cheerful  and  his  presence  in  any  company  was  like  a  ray  of 
sunshine.  He  was  never  known  to  complain  over  misfortune  or  illness, 
but  wore  a  smile  at  all  times  and  tried  to  make  those  around  him  happy. 

"The  colonel,  as  he  was  affectionately  known  here,  will  be  truly 
missed  in  Thomasville,  as  a  man,  as  a  citizen,  but  mostly  as  a  friend. 
There  was  hardly  a  person  in  this  city  who  had  been  here  for  any  length 
of  time  but  who  had  come  in  contact  with  him  on  the  streets,  in  his  office 


-[28}- 


or  in  his  home,  and  who  had  not  at  some  time  been  made  to  feel  better 
by  his  cheerful  greeting. 

"Colonel  Lambeth  was  an  outstanding  man  in  the  community,  in  the 
county  and  in  the  state,  and  many  of  the  larger  papers  of  North  Carolina 
have  paid  tribute  to  him  in  their  editorial  columns  since  his  death.  Quota- 
tions from  several  of  these  newspapers  are  given  here,  showing  his  worth 
as  a  man  and  as  a  citizen.  ..." 

— (The  News  and  TixMES,  November  29,  1928.) 


"Colonel  Frank  S.  Lambeth  was  patriarch  of  those  who  made  his 
town  of  Thomasville  the  Chair  Town,  giving  it  a  distinction  before  the 
world  that  is  cherished  by  an  industrious  people.  He  was  a  power  in  his 
community,  a  man  of  tremendous  influence  throughout  Davidson  county. 

"The  young  era  of  industrialism  in  the  Piedmont,  of  furniture  and 
textiles,  is  the  product  of  the  initial  adventuring  of  men  who,  those  of 
them  that  remain,  are  no  longer  young.  The  contemporaries  of  Frank  S. 
Lambeth  have  gone  through  such  experiences  as  men  of  the  present  genera- 
tion who  magnify  and  carry  on  these  great  industries  do  not  have  to  en- 
counter; venturers  into  a  new  field,  whose  entrance  bore  no  conspicuous 
sign  of  welcome,  with  neither  prestige  nor,  in  many  instances,  ample 
reserves  of  money  and  credit  to  support  them.  Manufacturing  still  has 
its  lean  times  with  its  fat,  it  still  calls  for  the  best  a  man  has  to  meet  crises, 
and  to  be  in  constant  preparation  for  crisis;  the  most  fortunate  do  not 
find  it  all  beer  and  skittles.  Nevertheless  they  of  the  present  reap  in  com- 
parative ease  where  Colonel  Lambeth  and  others  sowed  in  struggle  and 
difficulty. 

"The  honors  he  had  won  in  the  business  world  and  in  community 
life,  in  the  life  of  the  state,  were  accorded  by  his  community;  the  place  his 
personality  and  talents  had  won  was  fully  recognized.  The  Chair  Town 
had  a  proper  pride  in  this  pioneer  of  the  chair  industry." — (Greensboro 
News,  November  24,  1928.) 


"If  personality  were  the  sort  of  thing  that  might  be  captured  by 
taking  thought,  our  social  philosophers  would  do  well  to  study  the  career 
of  Frank  S.  Lambeth,  who  died  in  Thomasville  last  week.  He  was  an  in- 
dustrialist, a  large  employer  of  labor,  but  never  in  his  whole  career  did 
he  find  himself  confronting  anything  that  a  northern  manufacturer  would 
recognize  as  a  labor  problem.  He  had  plenty  of  problems  relating  to  men 
in  his  employ;  but  to  him  these  were  not  labor  problems.  They  were  human 
problems,  because  he  employed,  not  labor,  but  men. 

"Investigators  from  other  sections  have  often  wondered  why  it  is  so 
difficult  to  gain  a  clear  understanding  of  the  present  state  of  southern 


-[  29  ]- 


industrialism.  The  principles  they  have  discovered  and  the  rules  they 
have  formulated  elsewhere  somehow  do  not  seem  to  apply  in  the  south. 
Methods  that  work  well  elsewhere  do  not  work  at  all  below  the  Potomac. 
Neither  employees  nor  employers  react  in  the  way  one  would  expect. 
Labor  conditions  remain  obscure,  chaotic  and  largely  unpredictable. 

"Frank  Lambeth  was  to  some  extent  the  answer  to  this  puzzle.  He 
was  typical  of  the  best  southern  employers  of  the  generation  of  the  in- 
dustrial pioneers.  When  he  founded  his  concern  nobody  in  North  Carolina 
knew  much  about  manufacturing  either  from  the  standpoint  of  the  em- 
ployer or  from  that  of  the  workman.  They  all  learned  together,  and  to- 
gether they  achieved  their  triumphs.  Every  man  in  the  factory  under- 
stood clearly  the  interdependence  of  master  and  man;  each  knew  that  if 
'Colonel  Frank'  succeeded,  everybody's  job  was  secure,  and  that  if  he 
failed,  all  his  men  would  be  in  a  bad  fix.  They  regarded  him  as  a  great  deal 
more  reliable  than  any  labor  union,  and  they  would  take  his  word  in  pre- 
ference to  that  of  organizers  whom  they  had  never  seen  before. 

"On  the  other  hand,  he  realized  keenly  the  contribution  that  his  men 
had  made  to  his  success,  and  he  accepted  responsibilities  toward  them 
which  would  appall  an  employer  born  and  raised  in  an  industrial  com- 
munity. If  he  hired  John  Jones,  he  was  not  merely  purchasing  one  more 
unit  of  labor  costing  so  many  dollars  a  week;  he  was  making  a  place  for 
old  man  Isaac  Jones'  boy,  whom  he  had  known  since  he  was  knee  high. 
And  he  paid  John  more  than  his  weekly  wage — he  paid  him  attention. 
Many  soulless  corporations  have  learned  that  it  is  good  business  to  look 
after  their  sick  or  injured  employees,  but  Frank  Lambeth  looked  after  his 
when  they  were  in  perfect  health,  but  also  in  trouble.  If  John's  eldest 
girl  ran  off  with  a  married  barber,  John  expected  'Colonel  Frank'  to  do 
something  about  it,  and  he  usually  did;  which  was  one  difference  between 
working  for  him  and  working  for,  say,  the  Ford  Motor  Company. 

"This  attitude  is  possible  only  when  an  employer  can  know  all  his  men 
personally.  As  southern  industrialism  grows  larger  and  more  complex, 
the  type  represented  by  Frank  Lambeth  is  bound  to  disappear. 

"However,  more  than  mere  personal  acquaintance  is  necessary  to  such 
a  relation.  There  are  plenty  of  employers  of  less  than  a  dozen  men  who 
inspire  no  such  respect  and  affection  as  this  man  enjoyed.  In  addition  to 
personal  knowledge  of  his  men  and  their  problems,  one  must  have  also  a 
profound  interest  in  humanity,  a  deep  and  abiding  affection  for  people. 

"In  this  quality  Frank  S.  Lambeth  was  one  of  the  richest  men  I  have 
ever  encountered.  He  was  interested  in  everything  and  everybody.  He 
loved  people  and  he  loved  life.  He  was  bouyant,  vibrant,  bubbling  over 
with  boyish  enthusiasm  and  boyish  gayety.  His  mere  presence  was  as 
destructive  to  grouches  as  a  hot  flame  is  to  a  chunk  of  ice.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  meet  him  without  coming  away  thinking  better  of  mankind. 

"And  behind  it  all,  and  over  it  all,  he  had  honor  and  courage  and  truth. 
After  all,  perhaps  it  is  useless  for  the  social  philosophers  to  study  him,  be- 
cause telling  us  what  he  was  like  will  never  make  us  like  him.    A  golden 


-[30]- 


heart  and  a  strong  soul  are  the  gifts  of  God,  and  not  to  be  acquired  through 
much  study." 

— (Gerald  W.  Johnson,  in  Greensboro  News,  November  28,  1928.) 


The  death  of  Colonel  Lambeth  on  Thursday  afternoon  after  a  long 
illness  brought  deep  grief  to  the  citizens  of  Thomas\rille.  He  was  a  man  of 
sterling  worth  to  the  community  and  was  foremost  in  everything  that  had 
for  its  object  the  industrial,  moral  and  religious  interest  of  the  town.  He 
was  a  successful  manufacturer  and  organized  the  Standard  Chair  Com- 
pany, one  of  the  oldest  and  most  prosperous,  of  the  industries  of  Thomas- 
ville,  but  he  was  a  great  deal  more  than  that;  he  was  one  of  the  wisest 
and  most  useful  citizens  of  the  community.  He  was  a  genuine  leader  of 
men  and  threw  himself  with  all  his  power  in  every  enterprise  that  looked 
to  the  growth  and  development  of  Thomasville.  His  counsel  was  eagerly 
sought  by  people  who  were  perplexed  and  was  gladly  given  to  those  in 
doubt  or  distress.  Nobody  in  the  town  possessed  a  keener  sense  of  justice 
or  a  finer  poise  of  judgment.  The  oldest  of  a  large  family  he  was  a  guide 
and  counseller  to  his  brothers  and  sisters  who  valued  his  wisdom  and 
followed  his  advice.  His  four  children  walked  in  his  footsteps  and  grew  up 
to  honored  maturity.  Two  of  his  sons  succeed  him  in  the  fine  business  he 
established  and  developed,  another  is  the  pastor  of  a  great  church  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  has  become  one  of  the  leading  pastors  in  the 
South,  while  the  youngest  is  a  daughter  of  glorious  womanhood.  His  wife 
who  was  Miss  Ella  Arnold,  of  Randolph  County,  was  a  helpmate  in  deed 
and  was  always  the  object  of  his  tender  devotion.  He  was  a  friend  affec- 
tionate and  loyal  and  true.  In  short  he  was  a  noble  Christian  man  who 
found  his  highest  joy  in  the  service  of  his  Lord  and  Master.  A  great  com- 
pany from  this  and  various  other  communities  gathered  on  Saturday 
afternoon  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  his  honored  memory, 
around  his  grave. 

— (Archibald  Johnson,  in  Charity  and  Children,  Nov.  29,  1928.) 


"Respected  and  loved  in  High  Point  almost  as  generally  as  in  his 
home  community  was  Colonel  Frank  S.  Lambeth,  who  died  yesterday  in 
Thomasville. 

"He  was  a  pioneer  in  the  furniture  industry  of  this  section.  In  the 
early  day  of  the  industry's  development,  Colonel  Lambeth  became  secre- 
tary-treasurer of  the  Standard  Chair  Company  of  Thomasville,  and  his 
success  was  an  inspiration  to  others  who  entered  the  furniture  manufactur- 
ing business. 

"His  business  duties  did  not  prevent  him  from  taking  a  large  part  in 
the  other  phases  of  the  life  of  his  community.  His  very  genuinely  fraternal 
spirit  found  full  play  among  his  fellows  to  the  end  that  he  won  the  affection 
as  well  as  the  admiration  of  those  who  knew  him.  To  his  neighbors  he 
was  infinitely  more  than  a  successful  business  man. 


-f311- 


"Perhaps  High  Point  developed  its  acquaintanceship  with  Colonel 
Lambeth  more  closely  than  it  might  have  done  otherwise  because  of  the 
relation  of  one  of  his  sons  to  this  city.  Reverend  William  A.  Lambeth, 
now  of  Washington,  D.  C,  was  pastor  for  a  period  of  the  Wesley  Memorial 
M.  E.  Church  here.  The  two,  father  and  son,  cemented  the  contacts  be- 
tween this  city  and  the  family  so  that  they  were  never  strained  or  broken. 

"Colonel  Lambeth  could  enter  no  gathering  of  High  Point  people 
without  being  heartily  acclaimed.  The  people  here  who  knew  him,  and 
they  were  numerous,  welcomed  him  on  all  occasions.  There  was  no  reserve 
in  this  honest  fondness  and  High  Point  people  are  among  the  sincere 
mourners  because  of  the  death  of  Thomasville's  splendid  citizen." — (High 
Point  Enterprise,  November  23,  1928.) 


"In  the  death  of  Colonel  Frank  S.  Lambeth,  the  town  of  Thomasville 
lost  the  pioneer  in  the  furniture  manufacturing  business  that  has  developed 
to  its  existing  large  proportions.  He  began  the  manufacture  of  chairs 
about  thirty  years  ago  and  lived  to  see  his  branch  of  the  industry  grow 
into  nation-wide  reputation.  But  he  was  valuable  to  the  community  not 
only  as  manufacturer,  but  as  citizen,  for  his  hand  had  an  active  part  in 
promotion  of  the  various  factors  that  have  operated  to  the  making  of 
Thomasville  a  fine  place  in  which  to  live.  His  domestic  life  was  an  inspir- 
ing example.  His  home  was  happy  and  he  made  all  around  sharers  in  this 
happiness,  and  in  his  later  years  he  was  surrounded  by  a  family  whose 
devotion  to  him,  born  of  the  model  life  he  lived,  was  unbounded.  Colonel 
Lambeth  was  a  devoted  and  a  consecrated  Methodist  and  contributed  to 
that  denomination  one  of  its  most  popular  and  influential  of  its  pulpit 
leaders.  His  life  was  full  of  good  deeds  of  the  kind  that  will  survive  to 
make  his  name  blessed." — (Charlotte  Observer,  November  24,  1928.) 


"The  pioneer  manufacturers  of  North  Carolina  laid  deep  and  broad 
the  foundation  upon  which  the  State's  manufacturing  expansion  rests. 
Among  the  virile  men  who  made  possible  today's  enlargement  was  Colonel 
Frank  S.  Lambeth,  who  died  in  Thomasville  last  week.  He  was  a  Chair 
King  and  an  industrial  leader  who  never  lost  his  interest  in  religion,  in 
education  and  in  good  government.  The  pioneers  in  manufacturing,  like 
Mr.  Lambeth,  remained  true  to  their  early  political  and  religious  creeds 
in  a  shifting  day  when  too  many  let  such  convictions  go  out  of  the  window 
when  wealth  comes  in  at  the  door.  Not  so  with  Colonel  Lambeth.  It  was 
his  steadfastness  that  made  him  esteemed  and  which  his  sons  inherit. 

"The  spirit  of  the  man  was  seen  not  only  in  his  devotion  to  the  things 
that  were  high  in  his  life  and  in  the  precepts  and  examples  he  placed  be- 
fore his  sons,  who  worthily  wear  his  mantle,  but  also  in  his  will.  There 
is  no  better  place  to  judge  a  man  who  has  made  a  competence  or  more  in 
his  life  than  to  read  his  will.  It  is  here  that  he  discloses  the  things  that  he 


-[32]- 


held  nearest  his  heart.  Mr.  Lambeth  sought  to  continue  in  some  way  his 
benevolences  to  churches,  to  colleges  and  to  other  institutions  which  are 
set  up  for  the  spread  of  religion  and  blessing  to  mankind." — (The  Honor- 
able Josephus  Daniels.) 


Resolutions,  Baraca  Class,  Main  Street  Methodist  Church, 
Thomasville,  N.  C. : 

"Colonel  Frank  Simmons  Lambeth  has  gone  to  his  Eternal  Home. 
There  was  no  fear  or  trembling  in  his  soul  as  he  embarked  for  the  great 
adventure.  As  he  had  lived,  so  did  he  die,  with  a  great  love  in  his  heart 
for  God,  and  sublime  faith  that  knew  no  wavering.  He  often  visited  our 
class;  he  taught  us  occasionally,  and  was  deeply  interested  in  our  activities 
and  proud  of  our  accomplishments.  We  shall  miss  him  keenly  as  we  meet 
in  the  future  to  carry  on  the  work  of  our  class  and  church  in  which  he  has 
for  so  long  a  time  taken  such  an  important  part.  His  two  sons,  James  and 
Charles,  have  also  been  deeply  interested  in  our  class  for  many  years, 
James  as  a  member  since  its  organization,  and  Charles  as  Superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  School  of  which  we  are  a  part. 

"And  whereas  we  desire  to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  our  departed 
brother,  and  give  expression  of  our  love  and  sympathy  to  the  family, 
therefore  be  it  resolved: 

"First — That  we  lift  up  our  heartfelt  praise  to  God  for  the  life  of  our 
esteemed  brother,  Colonel  Lambeth,  for  the  many  years  of  usefulness 
spent  among  us,  for  his  fine  qualities  of  Christian  manhood,  for  the  benign 
influence  that  radiated  from  his  life,  and  for  the  beauty  of  the  friendship 
and  fellowship  we  had  with  him  that  leaves  to  us  such  a  tender  and  sacred 
memory. 

"Second — That  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to  the  will  and  purpose 
of  Him  whose  plan  it  is  to  start  our  spiritual  culture  here  and  then  trans- 
plant us  to  His  Eternal  Gardens  of  life  where  we  are  not  fettered  with  the 
temptations  and  limitations  of  time  and  place,  but  in  the  light  of  his 
presence  and  the  liberty  of  his  love  our  souls  may  flourish  and  bloom  and 
rise  to  heights  unknown  to  earthly  habitation. 

"Third — That  we  convey  to  the  family  of  Colonel  Lambeth  an  ex- 
pression of  our  appreciation  of  his  life  and  work,  and  our  sincere  love  and 
sympathy  for  them  in  these  hours  when  sadness  is  in  their  hearts  because 
of  his  separation  from  them,  and  commend  them  to  the  care  of  our  Father, 
in  whom  they  steadfastly  trust,  and  to  the  comfort  of  the  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  who  gives  us  such  certain  assurance  of  reunion  with  those  we 
love. 

"Fourth — That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  our  minutes 
and  a  copy  sent  to  each  member  of  the  family  of  our  deceased  brother. 

J.  T.  Yarbrough 
J.  D.  Morgan 
T.  E.  Jennings 

Committee 

-[33  ]- 


On  October  twentieth,  1928,  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  Colonel 
Lambeth  called  to  see  his  Aunt  Jennie  Simmons,  at  Mrs.  Edgar  W.  Dixon's 
residence,  in  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  and,  during  the  conversation,  quoted 
to  her  what  he  said  was  Charles  Wesley's  last  hymn: 

"In  age  and  feebleness  extreme, 
Who  shall  a  helpless  worm  redeem? 
Jesus,  my  only  hope  thou  art, 
Strength  of  my  failing  flesh  and  heart  I 
O  could  I  catch  a  smile  from  thee, 
And  drop  into  eternity!" 

(This  hymn  appears  in  the  old  hymn  book,  as  No.  835.  Doctor  W.  F. 
Tillett,  in  "Our  Hymns  and  Their  Authors"  [1889],  prints  the  following 
note  with  reference  to  this  hymn:  "  'A  Last  Wish'  is  the  title  which  the 
author  gave  to  these  lines,  the  last  of  his  poetic  utterances.  They  were 
written  in  March,  1788.  They  were  written  by  the  author  on  his  deathbed. 
He  called  his  wife  to  him,  and  she  wrote  down  as  he  dictated.  This  fragment 
is  the  sweet  singer's  last  song  on  earth.  It  was  doubtless  continued  and 
completed  on  the  other  shore.  What  a  noble  sentiment  with  which  to  close 
a  life  that  has  been  consecrated  to  God!") 

■ 


-[34]- 


Thames  of  Choir  Who  Sang  at  Colonel  Lambeth's  Funeral 


Miss  Susie  Crowell,  Organist        Mrs.  W.  J.  Hege 

Mrs.  R.  C.  Harville  Mrs.  Myrtle  Perry  Allred 

Miss  Nell  Parkin  Mr.  Gurney  Briggs 

Mr.  M.  L.  Bales  Dr.  R.  K.  Farrington 

xHr.  T.  J.  Perry 


-[35]- 


BARBER-HALL  PRINTING  COMPANY 
HIGH  POINT  -  NORTH  CAROLINA 


